With the latest incarnations of ASP.NET 2.0 and SQL Server 2005, programming dynamic data-driven websites with Microsoft technologies has become easier and much more efficient than ever before. Fewer mouse clicks and fewer lines of code can now enable more powerful features and the tools you need—Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition and SQL Server 2005 Express Edition—are free!

In this book you’ll learn how to best use the free development tools offered by Microsoft to build an online product catalog with shopping cart, checkout, product searching, product recommendations, a control panel, customer accounts, order processing and much much more. You’ll learn how to handle payments by integrating PayPal, DataCash, and VeriSign Payflow Pro into your site. We’ll also teach you how to expand your site’s product listing by expanding your product section through web services.

Each feature you add to your website will introduce you to new challenges and theoretical concepts, which are carefully analyzed and explained throughout the book. You will gain an intimate understanding of every piece of code you write. This understanding will enable you to build your own powerful and flexible websites efficiently and rapidly with ASP.NET 2.0.

You can visit a demonstration version of the site built in this book by visiting the author's website (www.cristiandarie.ro).